United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

What is UNDP?

UNDP is the UN's global development network, helping people meet their needs and build a better life. UNDP is on the ground in 166 countries, working as a trusted partner with governments, civil society and the private sector to help them find solutions to global and national development challenges.

World leaders have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including the overarching goal of cutting poverty in half by 2015. UNDP's network links and coordinates global and national efforts to reach these Goals. Our focus is helping countries build and share solutions to the challenges of :

Democratic Governance
Poverty Reduction
Crisis Prevention and Recovery
Environment and Energy
HIV/AIDS

What is UNDP Brussels office about?

UNDP Brussels seeks to maintain, nurture and develop the UNDP partnership with the European Union (EU) and the Government of Belgium in order to:

Further a progressive development agenda that promotes international UN standards
Ensure mutual understanding and knowledge
Mobilise critical resources for its development work on the ground.

UNDP Brussels works to promote greater coordination among the UN system, facilitating the UN’s interaction with EU institutions and providing support for official missions and the development of inter-institutional networks. UNDP’s mission in Brussels is to enhance the relationship between UNDP’s global system and EU institutions, ensuring that the policies of both parties are in line with one another and supporting the implementation of joint programmes in the field. UNDP Brussels also directly supports the work of UNDP Country Offices around the world in their dealings with the European Commission.

http://www.undp.org/eu/

Human Development Report 2010 —20th Anniversary Edition

The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development

UNDP’s annual Human Development Report focuses the global debate on key development issues, providing new measurement tools, innovative analysis and often controversial policy proposals. The global Report's analytical framework and inclusive approach carry over into regional, national and local Human Development Reports aimed at expanding the range of policy options available to developing country governments and societies.

The first Human Development Report in 1990 opened with the simply stated premise that has guided all subsequent Reports: “People are the real wealth of a nation.” By backing up this assertion with an abundance of empirical data and a new way of thinking about and measuring development, the Human Development Report has had a profound impact on development policies around the world.

The 2010 Report continues the tradition of pushing the frontiers of development thinking. For the first time since 1990, the Report looks back rigorously at the past several decades and identifies often surprising trends and patterns with important lessons for the future. These varied pathways to human development show that there is no single formula for sustainable progress—and that impressive long-term gains can and have been achieved even without consistent economic growth.

Looking beyond 2010, this Report surveys critical aspects of human development, from political freedoms and empowerment to sustainability and human security, and outlines a broader agenda for research and policies to respond to these challenges.

As Nobel Prize–winning economist Amartya Sen writes: “Twenty years after the appearance of the first Human Development Report, there is much to celebrate in what has been achieved. But we also have to be alive to ways of improving the assessment of old adversities and of recognizing—and responding to—new threats that endanger human well-being and freedom.”

Download the report: http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2010/

UNDP in Action 2010/2011: People-centred Development.

Empowered lives. Resilient nations

This UNDP Annual Report 2010/2011 takes stock of achievements made in 2010/2011 and provides momentum for meeting future demands. On the ground in 177 countries and territories worldwide, UNDP continues to assist governments in empowering their citizens through projects and programmes that make a difference in people's lives, allowing for informed choices, and building the groundwork towards more resilient nations. Resilience in particular ensures that societies, communities and families can withstand crisis — whether it is a natural disaster or a food price shock — and bounce back with limited long-term damage, and be better prepared for the next crisis. In 2010, as always, UNDP worked hard to deliver on its commitments to the people and countries it serves. For example, in Haiti, we initiated large scale cash-for-work initiatives with partners which employed 240,000 people that year, and cleared one million cubic metres of debris. In Kenya, we worked to support a peaceful referendum on the country’s Constitution, as it recovers from the post-election violence of two years before. In Pakistan, following the devastating floods, we quickly launched an early recovery programme, helping more than 200,000 people in the hardest hit provinces to begin rebuilding their lives. Going forward, UNDP will continue to work through its global networks to link ideas and best practice with nations and communities which are seeking solutions to their development challenges.

Highlights

- Thirteen percent of all UNDP expenditures went directly to supporting MDG progress in developing countries in 2010.

- 103 countries received support from UNDP for anti-corruption efforts in 2010.

- In 2010, UNDP created eight million days of work for people affected by crisis, through job creation and cash-for-work initaitives.

- 24.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide were not emitted in 2010 thanks in part to UNDP’s work in energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives in 77 countries.

Download the report http://www.beta.undp.org/undp/en/home/librarypage/corporate/undp_in_action_2011.html

Library

UNDP and its administered funds — the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and UN Volunteers (UNV) — produce a wide variety of publications that are available free of charge in electronic form on the UNDP Web site www.undp.org. Through its publications, UNDP makes an invaluable contribution to the global development debate aimed at finding solutions to improve people's lives.

Human Development Report (1990-2011)

The Human Development Report is an independent publication commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Its editorial autonomy is guaranteed by a special resolution of the General Assembly (A/RES/57/264), which recognizes the Human Development Report as “an independent intellectual exercise” and “an important tool for raising awareness about human development around the world." The first Human Development Report in 1990 opened with the simply stated premise that has guided all subsequent Reports: “People are the real wealth of a nation.” With its wealth of empirical data and innovative approach to measuring development, the Human Development Report had a profound impact on development thinking around the world. Featuring the Human Development Index, every report presents agenda-setting data and analysis and calls international attentions to issues and policy options that put people at the center of strategies to meet the challenges of development.

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2011
More than halfway to the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), major advances in the fight against poverty and hunger have begun to slow or even reverse as a result of the global economic and food crises. This report warns that, despite many successes, overall progress has been too slow for most of the targets to be met by 2015. The report is coordinated and published by the Statistics Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Results
The 2009 Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Results is a revision of the previous Handbook published in 2002. The publication is a corporate initiative to strengthen a culture of results-orientation in UNDP programming, and is different from previous versions. Recognizing the importance of integrating results management at the design stage, it includes guidance on results-based planning. By providing ‘how to’ on results-based planning, monitoring and evaluation, this Handbook is intended to strengthen the organization as a global partner in development.

Elections and Conflict Prevention: A Guide to Analysis, Planning and Programming
This guide identifies strategic approaches and forms of programming that can help to anticipate and prevent the types of violent conflict that can accompany elections and set back development in emerging democracies or post-war societies. It presents valuable lessons learned from the previous, extensive experience of UNDP and its partner organizations in the field.

MDG Gap Task Force Report 2010

This report by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Gap Task Force identifies the main gaps remaining in delivering on the global commitments in the areas of aid, trade, debt relief, and access to new technologies and to affordable